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VIEW
FROM THE HELM
by Denny O’Hern
FUELISH IDEAS
Fuel prices, effort and
reality
We all see that offshore effort is
down. WAY down, in many folks’ opinions. Yet the NMFS continues to ignore
this fact, even while having THEIR OWN SHIPS TIED TO THE DOCK DUE TO HIGH
FUEL PRICES. Yes, due to high fuel prices four major NMFS research cruises
were cancelled earlier this month. 231 days of research, most of it ongoing,
will be lost. This is over 60% of the scheduled research days for 2008.
In the Gulf, NOAA has dropped at least two research trips; a marine mammal
cruise and one on fish larvae adrift in ocean currents, for a total loss of
about 95 days at sea. All due to a $1.7 million shortfall in the NMFS fuel
budget.
We have been telling NMFS
for a year that recreational effort is down due to fuel prices. They have
ignored us. It has come to my attention that MRFSS numbers for the first
two months of 2008 show that we fished offshore more than ever before. So
we are supposed to believe that with these
record high fuel prices that the recreational sector has DOUBLED their
offshore trips into the Gulf?
Why is the recreational effort reduction
being ignored by the National Marine Fisheries Service? Could it be that it
does not fit the anti-fishing agenda that the enviro-extremist movement has
embedded in the management system?
NMFS cancels research trips because
they can’t afford fuel for the boats.
What about the private citizen?
Millions of dollars continue to be spent
every month advancing the enviro-extremist agenda in Washington, DC, at the
regional fisheries management council level, as well as the state wildlife
management level. MILLIONS to prevent fishing.
We contend that the fuel prices have
changed offshore effort patterns forever more. Logic and common sense
contend the same, yet the managers at NMFS ignore it.
Reality- Economic and social destruction
loom large for the fishing communities and businesses of the Gulf and South
Atlantic. Stock assessments, by design, are giving a pessimistic view of
the stocks. Coupled with draconian measures put forth in the latest
Magnuson-Stevens Act, this pessimistic view causes unnecessary and harmful
economic damage as well as a wrongful denial of our right to fish.
Our legislators are listening! We will
soon ask you to lend your voice in support of our legislators acting on our
behalf to save our economy and fisheries. It is high time we take a
precautionary approach to the impact on the economy and the fishing public.
High time, indeed. Join us in making a
difference.
Staying the course,
Denny O’Hern
Gulf Council Florida
Recreational Rep selected
Mr. Ed Sapp has been selected to represent the Florida
RECREATIONAL community on the Gulf Council, beginning this August. We
look forward to working with him. The FRA's experience with Mr. Sapp
has been positive.
Gulf Council News
Gulf Council Meeting – Houston, TX
June 2-5
The Council has put off the final rule
vote until their August meeting.
The current preferred alternative is for
a two month rec closure and a daily four fish aggregate grouper limit with a
two Gag and two Red limit within the aggregate.
Remember, y’all- It is not yet a final
rule. Much can happen.
The preferred alternative for the
recreational reduction is a daily recreational limit of a four aggregate
grouper bag with a limit of two Gags and two Reds per bag, combined with a
two month closed season.
The Council will vote on the final rule
in August but has asked the National Marine Fisheries Service to prepare an
interim rule in order to assure that the new rules will be in place for
JANUARY 1, 2009.
Several issues were purposely not
discussed at the Gulf Council meeting in Houston. One key item was the
management alternative of a 24” gag for the recreational sector. According
to NMFS’s own figures, a 24” gag size limit and a one month closure would
result in a 28% reduction in gag landings. That reduction exceeds the 25%
reduction being sought now. The FRA feels that the 24” limit would be
enough of a reduction in and of itself.
There seemed to be an agenda toward
closed seasons and a precautionary (for the fish, that is) approach.
Fatally flawed MRFSS bodes economic and
social destruction
Even though fuel prices have driven down
every form of offshore fishing, the latest estimates of recreational effort
are showing that the recreational sector doubled its offshore trips in the
two month period of Jan and Feb 2007 to the same 2008 period. DOUBLE!
Gulf Council’s Reef Fish Advisory
Panel
The AP meets in Tampa on July 29 & 30 to
discuss a variety of issues.
One of the topics will be a 24 inch
minimum length rule for Gag grouper as a means of achieving a landings
reduction.
Gulf Council Scientific and
Statistical Committee meeting –Tampa, FL May 26-28
The SSC heard Dr. Kenchington’s
presentation on Natural Mortality. There was an apparent agenda driving the
refusal by a narrow margin to consider a higher natural mortality rate at
this time. We are concerned with this and have taken it up with the Gulf
Council. Dr. Kenchington has provided a Natural Mortality Estimator paper
to explain the differences in the estimator methodology.
Email the FRA for a copy of the report.
South Atlantic Council news
South Atlantic Council meeting –
Orlando, FL June 8-13
The South Atlantic Council seemed to be
driven by an agenda. The turnout for public input was, given the
magnitude of the proposed regulations, a bit light. The private angler
sector was woefully under-represented in terms of numbers of people.
The enviro-extremist army was there, however.
The South Atlantic fishing communities, recreational and commercial, need to
rise up from their common ground and make themselves a true force to be
reckoned with, one that is impossible to ignored.
Click here for the list of motions form
the meeting.
LINK
NOTABLY: Circle Hook requirement was
rejected due to a new report that shows the circle hook to be detrimental to
Gag Grouper and American Red Snapper have been rejected due to a scientific
publication submitted by the Southern Offshore Fishing Association.
The SA Council voted to send Amendment
15B to final rule.
No sale of recreational caught or
possessed fish will be allowed.
Amendment 16 Snapper Grouper was put off
until the September Meeting.
State Wildlife officials and the
Governors of the South Atlantic States will have to weigh in on this one.
Simply put, the Natural Mortality rate used in the Gag stock assessment is
far too low. This rate, which NMFS admits is low, causes a more pessimistic
view of the stock. This pessimistic view will cause unnecessarily
restrictive regulations and set such a low landings threshold that the
fishery will surely be closed within two to three months of its opening. The
healthier a fish stock is, the sooner the fishery will be closed. What kind
of economic and social balance does that speak to?
Contact your state’s Governor and your
state and federal legislators. Let them know that you are concerned about
the consequences of underestimating the health of the fishery.
How does the charter industry warrant
its own piece of the recreational fishery? Are we not either recreational
or commercial fishing? If we recreationally fish, we can do it from our
boat or hire someone. This does not give charterboat operators the “right”
to a percentage of the fishery. The South Atlantic Council might be leaning
in that direction, however. Divide and conquer, once again.
Islands In The Stream –
still a bad idea
This idea simply will not go away. We are in danger of an expedited end run
on the entire federal process for creating marine sanctuaries. This is being
pushed by the environmental extremists through the office of Council for
Environmental Quality. The use of the Executive Order (under the Antiquities
Act) to declare large portions of recreational and commercial fishing areas
as marine sanctuaries is unacceptable and nearly irreversible.
We simply must act now.
A letter or phone call to ALL of your Congressmen is needed. Today.
Tell them that you oppose the idea of declaring the areas of the Gulf and
South Atlantic into large scale marine sanctuaries. Urge them to speak with
the President about this issue. Ask the President to allow the established
process of creating marine sanctuaries to take place. The Gulf Council and
South Atlantic Council have both written letters of concern and opposition
regarding the ‘Islands In The Stream’ concept.
Download the
PLAN,
the letters of concern from the Gulf Council and the
MPA Council, and the
response from DOC Secretary Gutierrez. Just
click the hot link for each document.
action item:
Voice your concerns:
President George W. Bush
comments@whitehouse.gov
Vice President
Richard Cheney
vice_president@whitehouse.gov
Secretary of Commerce
Carlos Gutierrez
cgutierrez@doc.gov
Council on Envrionmental Quality
James
Connaughton
chairman@ceq.eop.gov
action item:
EMAIL a request for a copy of the latest proposal to Billy Causey (Who
IS Billy Causey?)
FRA goes to Washington, DC
(again)
We support the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act, H.R. 5425.
The following is a press release about the visit.
Fishermen gather to fight feds
Once adversaries, now allies, recreational and commercial fishing groups met
in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, June 18, to plan a united front and
challenge federal authorities' questionable management of the nation's
valuable fishing stocks.
Over-precautionary measures mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Act have caused
damage, both social and economic, to fishing communities throughout the
United States.
Here’s the dilemma: If fishermen catch more fish; the government says they
are “overfishing.” If fishermen catch fewer fish: the government says the
stock is “overfished.” Either way, the fishermen lose.
In reality, catching more fish usually signifies a healthy, growing fishery.
Catching fewer fish could be a signal of trouble.
In the case of gag grouper in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic, one
might expect fishermen to catch fewer fish due to the explosion of the more
aggressive red snapper. Ironically, red snapper populations are at a twenty
year high, yet the restrictions are so strict, fishermen can only target the
species two months out of the year and keep just two fish per angler.
Current assumptions used to determine the health of the stocks are far too
precautionary and will guide any assessment toward the pessimistic. Last
spring, Dr. Trevor Kenchington, a marine biologist with 30 years of national
and international fisheries management experience, was hired by an unlikely
union of commercial and recreational fishing groups to provide insight as to
why the stocks appeared healthy to the fishermen, yet new regulations called
for a nearly 50% cut in landings.
Among other things, Kenchington discovered that managers failed to take into
account that fishing effort was down by 50%, thanks to runaway fuel prices.
And when fishermen do head offshore, they don’t go as far, or for as long,
as previously thought, which results in fewer and smaller fish being caught.
Stocks of red and gag grouper and red snapper are 15- to 25-year highs. This
new consortium of fishing groups, recreational and commercial, will fight to
see that common sense prevails.
The people that visited together
as a group were Dennis O'Hern, (Fishing Rights Alliance), Bob Spaeth
(Southern Offshore Fishing Association), Bob Zales, National Association of
Cahrterboat Operators, Travis Palladeno, (Livewire Charters) and Greg
Abrams, (GASeafood). During our Washington, DC trip, the group visited
legislators, educating them to the problems that we face in the fisheries
with the pending regulations and imposing Magnuson-Stevens Act sanctions.
We reasoned that a loss of a Billion dollars in economic impact will be
compounded by an additional $500 million cost for economic disaster aid for
the fisheries.
The comment heard from every staffer was
about the significance of the unity among adversaries. Our message was
heard like never before.
Dr. Kenchington’s Natural Mortality work was of great interest to those with
a scientific mind. More to follow. Watch for an action alert.
Fatally
flawed MRFSS bodes economic, social destruction
The FATALLY FLAWED Marine Recreational Fishing
Statistical Survey is once again producing wildly inaccurate estimates of
offshore fishing effort.
Even though fuel prices have driven down every form of
offshore fishing, the latest estimates of recreational effort are showing
that the West Florida recreational sector doubled its offshore trips in the
two month period of Jan and Feb 2007 to the same 2008 period. DOUBLE! Hard
to believe, or simply insane?
The implications here are huge, as this effort will be
multiplied by some catch rate and show that the rec sector has exceeded
their annual quota in less than four months.
This has got to stop now. The FRA is fighting these
false figures and educating our regulators about the consequences of using
MRFSS as an in season quota monitoring tool.
Here are the numbers for Jan/Feb and Mar/April so you
can compare:
Results for Jan/Feb only
|
Year |
Number Trips |
PSE |
|
1998 |
143,195 |
9.7 |
|
1999 |
206,549 |
8.5 |
|
2000 |
165,514 |
10.2 |
|
2001 |
178,560 |
8.9 |
|
2002 |
171,654 |
10.1 |
|
2003 |
152,184 |
9.3 |
|
2004 |
195,384 |
8.8 |
|
2005 |
170,958 |
9.1 |
|
2006 |
124,183 |
10.4 |
|
2007 |
113,057 |
10.9 |
|
2008 |
225,877 |
9.8 |
Results for Mar/April only
|
Year |
Number Trips |
PSE |
|
1998 |
154,944 |
7.8 |
|
1999 |
279,286 |
6.2 |
|
2000 |
178,772 |
7.9 |
|
2001 |
278,486 |
7.5 |
|
2002 |
215,090 |
6.3 |
|
2003 |
213,273 |
7.7 |
|
2004 |
282,129 |
7.3 |
|
2005 |
228,838 |
7.6 |
|
2006 |
211,741 |
8.6 |
|
2007 |
146,214 |
8.9 |
|
2008 |
194,559 |
9.3 |
SUPPORT WE
CAN BUILD ON
Every day-
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Millions of dollars are collected to fund these efforts, gleaned from
the unsuspecting through the use of misleading prose creating the
promise of the self-elation of doing something ‘good’ by donating money
to ‘the cause’.
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Government regulators conspire to usurp your rights in the name of
‘conservation and environment’ using biased science and bullying
management tactics along with the sheer strength of our own government
agencies.
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Enviro-extremists
descend upon government agencies to push their anti-fishing agenda.
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An
enviro-extremist backlash comes closer. The extremists have taken too
much, unnecessarily hurt too many and benefited too few for FAR too
long.
Every day-
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The FRA
uses all of its resources to compel fairness in fisheries management.
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The FRA
works toward healthy fish stocks and the ability to access sustainable
fisheries.
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In
Washington, DC, Galveston, TX, the Big Easy, Tampa, Miami, Charleston
and more, the FRA is in the ring for YOU.
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We need
to be there. The cost of freedom is eternal vigilance. Every day.
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The FRA
engine needs fuel.
Be a Block in the FRA foundation. Help the FRA by
donating a little bit every month. It is easy to do.
As little as $10 per month makes you a Foundation
Supporter.
Charter captains get referrals as a Foundation
Captain for $25 in monthly support.
Fleet operators can be a Foundation Fleet
member for only $50 per month.
Tackle Stores and suppliers, Boat Dealers and dive
shops - $50 donation per month designates you as a Foundation Business
Partner.
Manufacturers- Is the FRA worth a day’s pay for part
time help? Donate $100 per month as a Foundation Manufacturer,
listed in every F’ISSUES as well as on the FRA website.
FRA supporter signage for all charter captains, stores
and manufacturers will be provided, as will be hotlinks from the website and
newsletter.
To review the Foundation levels-
Foundation Supporter
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The donation can be deducted monthly from a credit
card, bank account or PayPal account, all with the security of PayPal
transactions. You will, of course, have the option of donating an entire
year’s worth of support at one time to avoid the monthly donations.
You will receive FRA vinyl labels for your boat,
truck, car or any surface of your choice, as well as a free ticket (a $10
value) in the next FRA drawing (to be announced).
Be a part of the
FRA’s Foundation!
HELP THE FRA WITH
EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
Do you own a charter business? Dive
shop? Tackle store? Boat dealer? Engine dealer? Tackle manufacturer?
Fishing business?
You can help out by being an FRA
education and donation point. You will be listed on the FRA website and in
FRA F’ISSUES as a supporting business.
The FRA will provide you with an FRA
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continuing education on the issues that confront us.
You, too can be there
EVERY DAY for the FRA. Become an FRA business partner.
Enjoy FRA advertising and the FRA’s powerful BUY IT HERE
DESIGNATION. This designation is reserved for FRA business partners who
provide monthly support to the FRA. It is meant to foster a sense of pride
in those who regularly support the FRA.
Please help us get the
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Email us here with your contact
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Don't forget to support the FRA. Anything you
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